#robert justman

[departmentq]

[gatespage]

Gates McFadden poses with the ‘Justman’ shuttle on the TNG set (3/5/1993)

Robert Justman

“My favorite actress displays my favorite personal vehicle. When she auditioned for the role of Dr Beverly Crusher, she was so impressive that we had to cast her immediately. So, Gates McFadden was the first actor to land a role on Star Trek: TNG.”

[tprings-hair]

production memo from bob justman to gene roddenberry concerning missing wigs post season 3. transcript under the cut.

source

Desilu Productions Inc.

Inter-Department Communication

To: Gene Roddenberry.

cc: Leo Pepin

Emmet Lavery, Jr.

Marvin Katz

From: Bob Justman

Date: February 5, 1968

Subject: MISSING HAIR GOODS

Gene:

If you haven't already heard about it, we are missing some wigs and hair pieces.

Bill Shatner borrowed all four of his hair pieces when we finished shooting. There are two new ones and two old ones. The new ones are worth approximately $200.00 apiece and the two old ones are worth approximately $100.00 apiece. Should "STAR TREK" go again next season, this no doubt means that we will have to construct new hair pieces again for Bill because he will have used both the old ones and the new ones to such an extent that they will not be photographable. This I guarantee, since it has happened to us before.

Majel Barrett's wig has disappeared. Nobody, including Majel, knows what has happened to it.

Nichelle Nichols wig has disappeared. She borrowed it when she finished working and claims that she returned it, but neither Freddie nor Pat Westmore know anything about it being returned.

That takes us up to here on missing hair goods.

Regards,

Bob

RHJ:sts

[chernobog13]

CGI-version of the original Romulan Bird of Prey in the remastered Star Trek: The Original Series episode Balance of Terror.

Other than re-used footage in second season episode The Deadly Years, the Bird of Prey model was never seen in the series again. Instead, when the Romulans re-appeared in the third season episode The Enterprise Incident, they were using Klingon D-7 cruisers outfitted with cloaking devices.

Spock's line in that episode stating that intelligence reports indicated Romulans had acquired Klingon ships suggested an alliance. however brief, between The Klingon and Romulan Empires. This explained why later on in the Star Trek films Klingon ships were all equipped with cloaking devices.

This alliance might never have come to be if it were not for the fact that the original Bird of Prey model was destroyed by its creator.

Producer Robert Justman loved the work of prop builder Wah Chang. Chang had designed and or built several props for the show, including the communicators, the Salt Vampire, and the Tribbles.

There was just one teeny weeny little problem, though: Chang was not a member of the prop makers' union, nor was he eligible to join. Star Trek, as a studio production, was obligated to only use items designed and built by union members.

However, Justman considered Chang's work superior to that of studio prop makers. He conceived of a scheme to have Chang design and build the Romulan ship, but the studio would be invoiced for a pre-existing item, not something built specifically for the production. That would allow them to bypass the union requirement.

Chang built the 2 1/2 foot-wide, internally lit model out of vacuum-formed plastic, plaster, and metal in approximately two weeks. It was delivered to TOS production studio and filmed for the Balance of Terror episode. Because he was non-union, Chang would not get a credit for building the model.

Eventually the prop makers' union found out that Chang had built the model and filed a grievance. After much wrangling between the two sides, the union agreed to drop the grievance as long as Chang was not paid for his work. The studio agreed and Chang received the model back instead of the money he was owed.

Understandably angry, Chang smashed the model with sledgehammer when he returned home. Chang apparently confirmed this in 1982 during a radio interview.

When The Deadly Years was filmed stock footage of the Bird of Prey was used because there was no one to rebuild the prop (Star Trek's budget kept getting slashed each year). By the time The Enterprise Incident was being prepped the producers decided to forego the limited stock footage they had, and instead made use of the Klingon D-7, the model of which was still in the warehouse.

And thus, the brief Klingon-Romulan Alliance was born.

[dukeofriven]

Actors considered-for (but who ultimately turned-down or were not selected-for) the role of Jean-Luc Picard. "Patrick came in his rental car, and we sat around for thirty-forty minutes," [Robert] Justman continued, "and then he made his good-byes and left to fly back to England. After he drove away, Gene closed the door and turned to me, and I will quote him exactly. He said, 'I won't have him.'" Roddenberry himself noted, "My first reaction was, 'Jesus Christ, Bob, I don't want a bald man.'" - Altman, Mark A and Edward Grss. The Fifty-year mission: The next 25 years. Black Inc. Books, 2016. (In order: Stephen Macht, Louis Gossett, Jr., Yaphet Kotto, James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Avery Brooks, Keir Dullea, Mitch Ryan, Roy Thinnes, Patrick Bauchau)

[defconprime]

Skybox TOS Season One autograph card for Robert Justman, 1997.

[theyboldlywent]

A memo from Robert Justman featured in this excellent piece on StarTrek.com explaining all the various insignia seen on Star Trek.

[data2364]

https://twitter.com/berman_rick/status/930963415903887360

https://twitter.com/berman_rick/status/930963589279637504

https://twitter.com/Data2364/status/931272967916486657